It's a beautiful day! Didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night but having this amazing view over looking the city and the moon shining down, the sky was clear, and the presence was peaceful. I keep reminding myself that I've got this :) Basically one week down and 2 more to go till I am discharged for a little break. And then I am admitted again June 30th and after EVERYTHING GOES WELL and ACCORDING TO PLAN I will be walking out of this hospital on July 16th, cancer free, a new system, and never having to do another shitty chemotherapy treatment in my life - Who rah!
Just a recap of what's all be happening:
Monday I had my central line put in and on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday my day basically looks like this:
8AM: Nurses comes in to start my steroids which keeps my weight stable and my appetite up and also checks my vital signs, height, weight, temperature, pulse, heart, etc.
8:30AM: Breakfast comes...The food is amazing here...I am serious! Or maybe it's the steroids!
9AM - 10AM: Nurse starts the chemo. Once the chemo is started I usually try and get out of bed and go for walks, freshin up (today is shower day), and do my exercises that the physio team has me on (It's a full body work out, and let me tell you...it's quite the work out...and I'm proud to say that I on the highest intensity program they have and hope to keep it there :)
12:30: Lunch...mmmmm....lunch
Usually around lunch time one of Christa's friends comes in to visit whom she met back in EMT school and is now studying to be a doctor. And occasionally I get the odd visitor around lunch as well.
2PM Chemo finishes and they put another drug in me which helps protect my bladder and make me pee A LOT. Literally, as soon as the drug goes in, within minutes I might as well just stand beside the toilet because for the next hour I have to go literally every minute. It's a little annoying but if it's part of getting better then it's what I gotta do!
Then for afternoon I just hang out, watch TV, go on the computer, and at 5:30 supper comes and then a couple more visitors comes and then the rest of the day is just hanging out, walking around...and being a trouble maker like always :)
They have this drug called mezna which they started on Tuesday and will finish tomorrow (Friday). This drug also helps to protect my bladder and I'm hoping believing that once it's done tomorrow that I will have no infections and my counts and temperature will be stable and I will get discharged until Tuesday. Next week on the 10th is when I start those shots to boost my stem cells and the Doctor said If I am feeling well I can probably just come in, get my shots, and then go home again. So if you are praying, pray with us that I will not have to be here and that I can go home. The hardest part of this journey so far has been seeing Christa leave at the end of the night...I'd much rather be at home in our own home and sleeping in our own bed and hanging out together. But...if I gotta be here then we will make the best of it :)
On June 15 (my birthday!) they take my stem cells from me and will mature them and freeze them. Basically it's almost like a transfusion. They hook a line up to meet which draws my blood into something like a dialysis machine which separate my stem cells from my blood and then returns my blood to my body through another line - a total of about 5 hours. I just gotta lay back and watch TV.
So that's the scoop for now. I just went for a little walk over to the kitchen to grab some orange juice and some crackers because I am hungry...so hopefully breakfast will be here soon. I've ordered french toast and bacon :)
Take care my friends...we will be in touch!
Tim Harriman
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